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Jeremiah Patterson could boost the NDSU wide receiver room.

North Dakota State will  see another wide receiver land in the NFL Draft next week in Bryce Lance, and the Bison wide receiver room remains in transition in the meantime.

The Bison lost their top-two wide receivers from the 2025 team in Lance and Raja Nelson. Lance tallied 51 receptions for 1,079 yards and eight touchdowns, and Nelson had 28 catches for 404 yards and four touchdowns.

Top returning wideout Jackson Williams only had 17 catches for 293 yards and a touchdown, so it behooved the Bison to add more talent via the transfer portal amid the program’s recent FBS move. NDSU landed Arizona wide receiver and kick returner Jeremiah Patterson and West Virginia wideout Jordan McCants this week, as the Fargo Forum’s Dom Izzo reported.

Here’s a look at both wideouts and where they could fit with the Bison this fall.

Jeremiah Patterson a Proven Playmaker

Patterson is easily the more seasoned of the two wideouts, since he played significant snaps for the Wildcats, compared to McCants’ time with the Mountaineers.

A 5-foot-10, 169-pound receiver, Patterson caught 26 passes for 196 yards and two touchdowns in 12 games for 2024, and he returned punts and kickoffs. He only played in four games last year before he entered the transfer portal. Izzo noted that Patterson only playing in four games secured NCAA eligibility for one more year at least.

“Patterson may have an additional year of eligibility, because he spent two years at junior college,” Izzo wrote. “Recent court cases, led by former Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia, sued the NCAA that the JUCO seasons didn’t count towards his four-year eligibility clock.”

A two-star recruit, Patterson enjoyed success for two season at San Mateo Junior College, where he scored 15 touchdowns. Kansas State, San Jose State, Eastern Michigan, and Georgia State all offered him.

NDSU could utilize Patterson’s talents in the passing game and on kick returns. Williams returned 14 kicks last season and returned one for a touchdown, but the next most frequent, Nelson, is gone.

Familiar Faces Coming For Jordan McCants

If McCants pans out for the Bison, he could go up against his old team in Week Zero on Aug. 26.

McCants, 5-foot-11, 178 pounds, started his collegiate career at Jacksonville State in 2022, and the Bison open with the Gamecocks this season. During McCants’ most active season with the Gamecocks between 2022 and 2024, he caught 15 passes for 146 yards amid 13 starts in 2024.

After transferring to West Virginia, McCants didn’t find a niche as a receiver with no receptions in 2025. McCants transferred to West Virginia as his former Jacksonville State head coach, Rich Rodriguez, left for Morgantown as the Mountaineers’ head coach last year.

“He’s very athletic and has good speed and is also a very, very good student. A guy that we think can learn all four of our receiver positions, which is going to make him really valuable for us,” Rodriguez said about McCants in 2022 via Izzo.

Other FBS teams that offered McCants, a three-star recruit, included Marshall, South Alabama, Arkansas State, and Troy. McCants could bring versatility and leadership with his FBS experience to the Bison wide receiver room.